Florida woman survives shark attack, calls it ‘surreal’

A Florida woman survived a sharkbite to her leg that occurred over the weekend in Fort Lauderdale and called the whole thing “surreal.”

Jessica Vaughn went tubing with her friends on Sunday afternoon and said that the attack occurred in dark water, reports ABC News. The 22-year-old admitted to being a little nervous about tubing in the water “because you can’t see what’s down there.”

Apparently there was a shark in the dark water that bit her, which she initially described as feeling like something “punched” her leg. When she looked down she realized she was bitten and needed help getting out of the water. She was tended to by her friends until they were able to make it shore.

Dr. Zoran Potparic, of Broward General Hospital, told NBC Miami, “It looks like he grabbed [her leg] and just pulled away.” The doctor added, “So he pulled those tissues on the inner side of the thigh, leaving the big flap of tissue that was hanging and that was really the major wound.”

Potparic said that Vaughn was lucky because the shark only just missed arteries and veins in her leg.

Vaughn, who is in good condition, will likely be released by the hospital later in the week. She noted that “It’s still surreal” and still can’t quite believe a shark bit her.